Private for-profit · Community college

Colorado Media School

Denver, Colorado · Large city

0%
Transfer rate: $30,514
Avg net price: 71%
Grad / completion: $37,423
Median earnings

Colorado Media School is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Denver, Colorado (large city setting), enrolling 38 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 38 undergradsLarge cityCold wintersSnowy

About Denver, Colorado

Denver is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. By the terms of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie between the United States and various tribes including the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the United States unilaterally defined and recognized Cheyenne and Arapaho territory as ranging from the North Platte River in present-day Wyoming and Nebraska southward to the Arkansas River in present-day Colorado and Kansas. Apollo Hall opened soon after the city's founding in 1859 and staged many plays for eager settlers. In the 1880s Horace Tabor built Denver's first opera house. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large city
Highest degree offered: Certificate
Nearest big city: 9 miles to Denver, CO
To the ocean: 743 miles
Nearest airport: 19 miles to Denver (DEN) · major hub

How Colorado Media School compares

Graduation rate71%

Higher than 64% · #20 of 49 in Colorado

First-year retention55%

Higher than 15%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$37,423

Higher than 58% · #28 of 44 in Colorado

Average net price$30,514

Cheaper than 7% · #45 cheapest of 49 in Colorado

Median debt at graduation$9,500

Lower than 57%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 86%

Undergraduate enrollment38

Larger than 9%

Percentiles compare Colorado Media School with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Colorado.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1334%
Men2566%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White32%
Black39%
Hispanic21%
Other or multiracial7.9%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 38
Student–faculty ratio: 9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 53%
First-generation students: 42%
Students over 25: 69%
Median family income: $16,766

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition: —
Room & board: —
Total cost of attendance: —
Average net price: $30,514

Outcomes

Graduated: 71%
First-year retention: 55%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $28,853
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $37,423
Median debt at graduation: $9,500
Students with federal loans: 60%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 25%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

71%

Low-income (Pell)

64%

First-generation

66%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$29,931

$30–48k

$30,765

$48–75k

$31,355

$75–110k

—

$110k+

—

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Colorado Media School funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.

Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $37,423
Typical debt at graduation: $9,500
Debt vs. one year's pay: 25%
Out-earn a HS grad: 44%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$32,679

Men

$38,736

Men out-earn women by $6,057 (19%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 90°F
Winter low: 17°F
Annual rain: 15″
Annual snow: 40.7″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Cherry Creek Dam, CO US station (3.6 mi from campus).

What Colorado Media School graduates study — and earn

Radio, Television, and Digital Communication

184 grads$19k 1 yr$27k 5 yr$10k debt

184$18,896$27,396$9,500 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication

22 grads$16k 1 yr— 5 yr$16k debt

22$15,718—$15,833

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Colorado Media School

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Colorado Media School side by side →

Orion Technical College

For-profit

Davenport, Iowa · Midsize city · 65 mi to Cedar Rapids

Students: 41
Tuition: $16k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $37k

Illinois Media School

For-profit

Chicago, Illinois · Large city · 13 mi to Chicago

Students: 32
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $38k

Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology

For-profit

Denver, Colorado · Large suburb · 7 mi to Denver

Students: 139
Tuition: $14k
Transfer: 50%
Earnings: $40k

Ohio Media School-Columbus

For-profit

Columbus, Ohio · Large suburb · 8 mi to Columbus

Students: 43
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $37k

Concorde Career College-Broadway

For-profit

Kansas City, Missouri · Large city · 2 mi to Kansas City

Students: 26
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $35k

Academy of Esthetics and Cosmetology

For-profit

San Fernando, California · Large suburb · 20 mi to Los Angeles

Students: 30
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $35k

Colleges near Colorado Media School

Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology

Denver, CO · Private for-profit · Associate · 139 students

4 mi

Arizona College of Nursing-Aurora

Aurora, CO · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 336 students

4 mi

Avalon Institute-Aurora

Aurora, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 162 students

4 mi

Iliff School of Theology

Denver, CO · Private nonprofit · Graduate

4 mi

University of Denver

Denver, CO · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 6,025 students

4 mi

Pima Medical Institute-Aurora

Aurora, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 266 students

5 mi

Concorde Career College-Aurora

Aurora, CO · Private for-profit · Certificate · 256 students

6 mi

Arapahoe Community College

Littleton, CO · Public · Certificate · 5,383 students

7 mi

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.